Matt Ion  wrote:
> Matt Ion wrote:
> > Craig wrote:
>
> >>> Which brings up the question - Did they apply the
> >>> triluminary to any other humans? =A0Not that I know of in
> >>> In the Beginning nor The Gathering.
>
> >> Actually I seem to recall Lennier explaining that Sinclair was teh 1st
> >> human that they found had a Minbari soul, but they took in other
> >> humans and found the same thing. It was in Points of Departure. BTW.
>
> > That's exactly what Lennier says...
>
> Oops, hit Send too quickly.
>
> Lennier's speech:
>
> "This was the first time the Grey Council would have direct contact with
> a human, in this case Sinclair. He was tortured, interrogated, scanned.
> During the course of the scan, the Council discovered something
> terrible. At first, they refused to believe it, so they took in other
> humans and had them scanned as well. But it was true.

If the triluminary actually detects Valen's DNA then it
actually detects some percentage of human DNA.  It
would react as such to any human or to folks with some
percentage of blood relation to Sinclair.  Since it reacts
to Minbari blood descendants many generations later
(? does it ?) then the degree of human relation could be
low as well - Maybe even someone with similar ethnic
background or anyone human.

> "It is our belief that every generation of Minbari is reborn in each
> following generation. Remove those souls, and the whole suffers. We are
> diminished. Over the last two thousand years, there have been fewer
> Minbari born into each generation.

Gradually dropping population.  Not a good sign for a
species unless they are well on the way to evolving as
Vorlons did to be able to drop their bodies at will.

> And those who are born do not seem
> equal to those who came before. It almost as if our greater souls have
> been disappearing.

This is a standard issue theme in human myths as well.

But there's also the fact that the Soul Hunters would
hav emanaged to get some even though Minbari drive
away soul hunters.

> At the Battle of the Line, we discovered where our
> souls were going. They were going to you. Minbari souls are being
> reborn, in part or in full, in human bodies."

If the triluminary does actually detect great souls of the
type soul hunters want, this statement means Lenier is
biased in favor of Minbari to the point he thinks great souls
must perforce be Minbari.  That's part of how Minbari are
consistantly depicted and part of why they need humans
to associate with other species.

If we had a machine that detected great souls to the point
it would light at the presence of a few living saints or
statesmen certain to become legendary, how would people
react if it also lit up when it scanned Agnes the Bonono at
the local zoo?  Or Flipper the Porpoise at a local sea world?
Or Duke the Beagle mthat lives at your next door neighbors?
Humans might be more open about multiple species than
Minbari, but there are limits.
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